Panchayati raj

The Panchayati Raj is a South Asianpolitical system found mainly in the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent. The word raj means "rule" and panchayat means "assembly" (ayat) of five (panch). Traditionally panchayats consisted of wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the local community. However, there were varying forms of such assemblies. Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes both between individuals and between villages. The leader of the panchayat was often called the mukhiya or sarpanch, an elected or generally acknowledged position. The modern panchayati raj of India and its gram panchayats are not to be confused with either the traditional system nor with the extra-constitutional khap panchayats (or caste panchayats) found in some parts of northern India.[1]

Open Panchayat Near Narsingarh MP India

Mahatma Gandhi advocated panchayati raj as the foundation of India's political system, it would have been a decentralized form of government where each village would be responsible for its own affairs.[2][3] The term for such a vision was Gram Swaraj ("village self-governance"). Instead India developed a highly centralized form of government.[4] However, this has been moderated by the decentralized of several administrative functions to the local level, empowering elected gram panchayats. There are significant differences between (1)the traditional panchayati raj system, (2) that envisioned by Gandhi, and (3) the system formalized in India in 1992.[5]